Mr Conibeer, who was born in New Zealand but has lived in Australia as a permanent resident since he was a child, says he was given 16 days to pay his hotel bill.

He was not initially told how much he owed, but he expected the bill for the two week stay to come to around $1300.

Police contacted the New Zealand Embassy the day after his arrest but Mr Conibeer was told consular officials could do little more than get in touch with his family.

He was not allowed to contact the Australian Consulate-General because he had travelled to Bali on a New Zealand passport.

Three days after his arrest, Mr Conibeer talked a police officer into letting him use Facebook to retrieve the contact details of his mother and brother in the US.

"I asked the police officer how much I owed, so I knew how much money to ask them to send," he says.

"He said, 'You need to pay $3000 within 16 days to get out of jail plus give money to the Chief of Police upstairs and deal with Immigration'."

But two days later, Mr Conibeer claims he was visited by a woman appointed as his translator, who told him the amount he owed had changed.

"The translator told me the policeman was wrong and I actually had to pay $5000 within six days to get out of jail," he says.

"My mum is on the pension and my brother isn't working, so they didn't have the cash but my brother organised an unsecured loan of $5000 to get me out."

But he claims his translator soon told him the $5000 would no longer be enough – the debt had risen to $5500 and this amount was not guaranteed to get him out of jail.

According to Mr Conibeer, the debt continued to rise over the next three weeks until he eventually stopped trying to pay it.

He claims it peaked at $9500 after his translator learned his brother was organising a loan of $20,000 against his mother's house, to pay for his release, airfare and to help him get back on his feet.

"I didn't pay the money because I believed it wasn't going to go to the hotel. I believed it wasn't going to go to the appropriate people. It was going to line someone else's pockets."

Mr Conibeer represented himself in court and was sentenced to one year in prison after refusing to pay the debt.

In Kerobokan, he shares a cell with 55 international prisoners, including members of the Bali Nine.

Conditions are filthy, food is in short supply and illness spreads quickly, he says

"You cough up s--t like you've never seen before in your life."

But it's not as bad as he expected. Prisoners are well treated and he stays fit and sociable.

Mr Conibeer says he would rather do the time than spend his money paying off local authorities.

His greatest frustration with his situation is that he receives no support from the Australian government in jail, despite being a permanent resident.

"I lived in Australia my whole life and paid taxes there, I've never lived in New Zealand," he says.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade told ninemsn Mr Conibeer was not receiving consular assistance from Australia because he was a New Zealand citizen.

A spokesman for the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the embassy had provided Mr Conibeer with support and information but was unable to pay hotel bills, fines, bail or get New Zealand citizens released from prison.

Police in Bali refused to comment on Mr Conibeer's claims over the phone.